ATHLETICS: BERNIE Jones aims to grab his ninth gold medal of the year at the British Masters Cross Country Champion-ships in Ireland next month.

The 46-year-old veteran, a coach with Vale Royal AC and runner with Wrexham, has collected eight gold medals since January.

The year was only a few days old when he won the Welsh Indoor 3,000 metres championship in Cardiff. Despite having run for Wales since he was 15 years old, this was Jones's first ever senior title.

At the end of January he helped Wrexham win the North Wales Cross Country Championships. He did not have to run flat out to pick up the Masters Over 45s individual title and gold medals in both the senior and veteran team races.

After the mud of Wales, Bernie made the long trek up to the Kelvin Hall, in Glasgow, and bagged a couple of gold medals in the Scottish Masters Indoor Championships. A solid 1500m victory was followed up less than two hours later with a victory in the 3,000m.

Jones went back to Cardiff for the British Masters Indoors where once again he came first twice. On Saturday he controlled the race from the front, comfortably winning in 4-17, and then returned on the Sunday to storm away from the field after 1,000m to emphatically claim another 3,000m gold.

The British Masters Cross Country Championships is his next target and Mike Weedall, the Middlewich postman who lives at Rudheath, will also don a Wrexham vest with the aim of retaining the title they won last year.

Jones and Weedall have a promising middle and long distance squad at Vale Royal.